Twenty/Twenty is the innovative business mentoring programme from the DBA. The programme pairs rising leaders in design with one of the leading lights of the design industry. Through 1-2-1 meetings, the mentor’s role is to listen, share experience, provide a sounding board for ideas and ultimately help the mentee to define their goals and grow their business.
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![Andy Gray](https://www.dba.org.uk/dba-staging/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/andy2-167x115.jpg)
Undecided about the value of Twenty/Twenty?
Undecided about whether to take part in the DBA’s innovative mentoring programme Twenty Twenty? Here’s a two minute read on its transformational impact. Twenty/Twenty mentee Andy Gray, Managing Director from StudioLR shares his experience of participating.
Why did you get involved in the Twenty/Twenty programme?
Quite simply I needed a fresh perspective from someone who understood our industry.
How would you sum up the experience?
Transformational, 2 years on I still have my mentor Andrew’s (Andrew Eyles, CEO and Co-Founder of Bluemarlin) wise words ringing in my ears.
What impact have you seen on your business?
That’s a great question. Financially we’ve had two of our best years since we started and we’ve doubled in size, but actually it’s the way we all go about our business that has had the most impact.
Before we were a design studio but now we’re a design business (called a studio). And everything we do reflects our new found confidence.
What, if anything, has surprised you about the programme?
If I’m honest I thought I wanted StudioLR to be a much larger business than we were, but working with Andrew taught me that with a few changes we could easily punch way above our size and that size really doesn’t matter.
What would you say to someone who was undecided as to whether they should get involved with Twenty/Twenty?
It’s a relatively in-expensive investment to have someone with very relevant experience mentor you. I’m actually signing up again this year.
With the value of hindsight, what piece of advice would you share with someone new to the programme, in order to get the best out of it?
Prepare for an emotional roller-coaster and to maybe hear things that will make you look deep inside yourself to places that you normally don’t go to.
Any last thoughts?
Plan in a celebration end of year meal, I actually met Andrew in Cornwall.
Want to know more?
Read Masters of the (design) Universe – the value of being mentored by an industry pioneer.